Rajeswari Padmanabhan

Rajeswari Padmanabhan, daughter of Lakshmi Ammal and grand daughter of Karaikudi Subbarama Iyer (the elder of the Karaikudi Veena brothers), is a ninth generation descendent from the Karaikudi Veena tradition. From the very young age of five, she was under the tutelage of her grandfather Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer (the younger of the Karaikudi Veena brothers) in the Gurukula system and remained under his guidance until the demise of the maestro in 1958. Later, under the Government of India scholarship, she continued her training in vocal from the composer Late Sri. Mysore Vasudevachar.

Currently, she is Professor of Music at Kalakshetra, the internationally renowned School of Arts and Dance at Madras, India where she has been teaching for the last four decades. Rajeswari Padmanabhan has numerous awards to her credit. Notable among them are the Sangeet Natak Academy Award by the Government of India and the Kalai Mamani award by the State Government of TamilNadu.

A top grade artist at the All India Radio, Doordarshan (TV), Rajeswari Padmanabhan has performed for various prestigious music organizations such as Music Academy, Indian Fine Arts, Krishna Gana Sabha, India. She has extensively toured North America, Europe & Asia.

Besides performing, she has composed a few varnams and tillanas, has set to tune the text of Kumbeshvarar Kuravanji for a dance drama, and is also credited with innovative approaches towards making portable Veena and designing new acrylic 'melam'. In the new acrylic "melam", the conventional honeybee wax on which the Veena frets rest is replaced with acrylic. The acrylic design offers durability without sacrificing the tonal quality of the Veena.

Sreevidhya Chandramouli

Sreevidhya Chandramouli, daughter of Smt. Rajeswari Padmanabhan, is a tenth generation veena player in the Karaikudi Veena tradition. She started learning the Veena from her mother at the age of four. Sreevidhya began to play in tandem with her mother from the age of nine and at the age of sixteen, gave her first solo performance. In addition to the traditional background, she pursued music academically and holds a Masters Degree in music from the University of Madras.

A regular performer at the All India Radio and Indian Doordarshan (TV) for the last 20 years, Sreevidhya has performed for various prestigious music organizations in India and abroad.

Sreevidhya was adjudged the best junior artist in the year 1988 by the Krishna Gana Sabha. She has performed repeatedly for Music Academy, Indian Fine Arts and Krishna Gana Sabha and other organizations in India. She performed for the TV serial Nadangi on South Indian Music and Musical instruments. Sreevidhya was invited to perform along with her mother, Rajeswari Padmanabhan, at the Festival of Saitanklange (Festival of Stringed Instruments), conducted by the Museum fur Volkerkunde & House of World Cultures, Germany.

Currently resident in the United States, Sreevidhya has been teaching & performing in the Northwest. She offers regular lecture-demonstrations at the University of Washington, University of Oregon, and Lewis & Clark College at Portland. She has also been a faculty member at the University of Washington, Seattle, of Veena and voice.